Shoalhaven Transfer Scheme
The NSW Government is looking to balance the water supply needs of the Sydney, Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands communities, while protecting the health of the Shoalhaven River and rivers in the Southern Highlands.
Following consideration of community feedback and a broad range of technical and environmental investigations, the NSW Government announced that:
- new environmental flow rules for the lower Shoalhaven River will be implemented when the drought is over
- a changed operating regime for Tallowa Dam will begin when the new environmental flow rules are implemented
- new infrastructure will be built at Tallowa Dam to allow native fish passage, and to allow water of a quality that best matches the needs of the river downstream to be released from the dam
- three options for possible future increased water supply transfers to Sydney and the Illawarra will be investigated in more detail by the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA).
In addition work will proceed on upgrading visitor facilities at Bendeela Camping Ground and Tallowa Dam Picnic Area. The SCA will consult with the community over the coming months on the new masterplan for the upgrade of these recreational facilities.
The SCA will conduct further technical investigations on the narrowed list of water supply transfer options and report back to the Government in the next 12 months.
To find out more visit the Department of Water and Energy and the Sydney Catchment Authority websites.
The Shoalhaven Transfer Scheme could increase water availability by up to 30 billion litres each year.